Sound guide for speaker and handset for mobile communication using the same

ABSTRACT

A sound guide for a speaker is capable of guiding a sound of a desired volume to a desired position regardless of installation structure of the speaker. The sound guide for a speaker includes a speaker support for supporting the speaker in a case, and a sound guide groove formed in an inner side of the speaker support, for guiding the direction of the audible signal of the speaker at a predetermined angle. The sound propagation groove has one side coupled with the speaker and other side coupled with a sound propagation hole which is formed in the case. A handset for mobile communication using the sound guide includes a case having a speaker therein, and a sound propagation hole for propagating the audible signal generated by the speaker to outside, wherein the speaker is slanted at a predetermined angle with respect to a front side of the case. Preferably, the sound guide is mounted in an upper side of the speaker to guide the audible signal to the sound propagation hole by directing the audible signal at a predetermined angle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a mobile communication handset, andmore particularly to a speaker installed in a handset for mobilecommunication.

2. Background of the Related Art

Generally, a speaker used for various electronic products converts aninaudible electrical voice signal to an audible signal. Small sizedelectronic products such as electronic pocket books, organizers andhandsets for mobile communications (e.g., cellular phones and personalcommunication service (PCS) phones) require a relatively small sizedoverall product and a relatively large sized display, such as a liquidcrystal display (LCD), to show various information to a user. To achievethis sizing, various suggestions, such as miniaturization of variouscomponents used for electronic products and variations in arrangement ofthe components, have been advanced.

The speaker, however, has properties such that the distance between thespeaker and the ears of the user, as well as extremely fine vibrationsand space structure of the speaker can vary the sound quality. For suchreasons, it was difficult to reduce the size of the speaker used forsmall sized electronic products beyond a certain limit. It was alsodetrimental to change the installation position and/or structure of thespeaker.

Accordingly, a related art speaker is formed in a case of the electronicproduct parallel and close to a sound propagation hole, which propagatesan audible signal generated by the speaker to the outside. An example ofthe related art speaker for a handset for mobile communication will bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

Referring to FIG. 1, an LCD 20 for displaying characters is provided ina main body, i.e., a case 2 of a handset 1. A sound propagation hole 15is formed in an upper side of the case 2, above the LCD 20, to propagatethe sound generated by a speaker 10, which is provided inside the case2. A microphone 12 and a flip 3 are provided in a lower side of the case2.

Referring to FIG. 2, at the rear of the sound propagation hole 15 formedin a front side 2a of the case 2, the speaker 10 is provided parallel tothe front side 2a of the case 2. A filter 50 is provided between thesound propagation hole 15 and the speaker 10 so as to prevent anyforeign substance, such as dust, from getting into the speaker 10. Thefilter 50 is attached to an inner side of the case 2 by a first piece ofdouble-sided adhesive tape 40, and attached to the speaker 10 by asecond piece of double-sided adhesive tape 45.

The operation of the related art speaker for the handset will now bedescribed. If an electrical signal reaches the handset 1, the electricalvoice signal is converted to an audible signal by the speaker 10. Theaudible signal remains in the case 2 for a while due to resistance andthen is propagated to an ear of the user through the filter 50 and thesound propagation hole 15. The filter 50 prevents any foreign substancefrom adhering to the speaker, and prevents deterioration of thespeaker's 10 performance.

The related art handset has various problems. Recent trends in handsetdesign have sought to reduce the handset's overall length in order tofacilitate carrying and custody. By contrast, it is desirable that thesize of the LCD become larger as data communication using a mobilecommunication system has increased. However, the extent to which therelated art handset for a mobile communication can meet suchrequirements is limited. That is, since the related art speaker 10 isattached parallel to the front side 2 a of the handset 1, the portion ofthe handset where the speaker 10 is mounted necessarily occupies alength greater than a diameter D of the speaker. This limits the extentto which the handset length can be reduced. Furthermore, since thespeaker 10 occupies a relatively large space in the handset having alimited size, the amount of space available to the LCD 20 is reduced.

Such problems cannot be solved by simply varying the installationposition and structure of the speaker. As aforementioned, since thespeaker has properties that vary the sound depending on the distancebetween the speaker and the user's ear, as well as on the extremely finevibration and space structure of the speaker, the volume or articulationof the sound may be deteriorated if any variation is made to only theinstallation position or structure of the speaker.

The above references are incorporated by reference herein whereappropriate for appropriate teachings of additional or alternativedetails, features and/or technical background.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a handset for a mobilecommunication device that substantially obviates one or more of thedisadvantages of the related art.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a handset for amobile communication capable of reducing the size of the handset andallowing an LCD to become larger.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a handset for amobile communication device having a speaker situated such that thediameter of the speaker does not affect the overall length of thehandset while maintaining a desirable sound quality.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a sound guide fora speaker, capable of guiding a sound of a desired volume to a desiredposition regardless of installation structure of the speaker, and ahandset for mobile communication using the sound guide.

To achieve at least the above objects in whole or in part, there isprovided a sound guide for a speaker according to the present inventionincluding a speaker support for supporting the speaker which is providedin a case thereof and converts an electrical signal to an audiblesignal; and a sound guide groove formed in an inner side of the speakersupport, for converting advance direction of the audible signal of thespeaker at a predetermined angle, the sound propagation groove havingone side communicated with the speaker and other side communicated witha sound propagation hole which is formed in the case. Preferably, thesound guide groove has a semicircular shaped curved surface with smallreflection of the sound and is made of a rubber material.

Additionally, to achieve at least the above objects in whole or in part,there is further provided a handset for a mobile communication systemincluding a case having a speaker therein and a sound propagation holefor propagating the audible signal generated by the speaker to outside,wherein the speaker is slanted at a predetermined angle with respect toa front side of the case. Preferably, a sound guide is mounted in oneside of the speaker to guide the audible signal to the sound propagationhole by converting the audible signal at a predetermined angle.

In order to achieve at least the above-described objects of the presentinvention in a whole or in parts, there is provided a communicationshandset, including a case having a sound propagation hole, a speakercoupled to the case which generates audible sounds, wherein the speakeris positioned at a first prescribed angle other than 0° or 180° withrespect to a front side of the case, and the sound propagation holeallows the audible sounds to be heard outside of the case.

To further achieve the above-described objects of the present inventionin a whole or in parts, where is provided a sound guide for a speakerincluding a speaker support for coupling to the speaker and a soundguide recess formed in an inner portion of the speaker support to guidethe propagation direction of sound waves emitted form the speaker in afirst direction, wherein the sound guide recess has a first side forsubstantially aligning with the speaker and a second side aligned in asecond direction that is substantially perpendicular to the firstdirection.

Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will beset forth in part in the description which follows and in part willbecome apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art uponexamination of the following or may be learned from practice of theinvention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realizedand attained as particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described in detail with reference to thefollowing drawings in which like reference numerals refer to likeelements wherein:

FIG. 1 is a drawing showing a front view of a related art handset formobile communication;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line I—I of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view illustrating a handset for mobilecommunication according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a drawing showing a front view of a handset for mobilecommunication;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view illustrating a handset for mobilecommunication according to one embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating the sound guide of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A sound guide according to one embodiment of the present invention and ahandset for mobile communication using the sound guide will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 3 is a sectional view illustratinga handset for mobile communication according to one embodiment of thepresent invention, and FIG. 4 is a front view of the device of FIG. 3.

The handset for mobile communication according to a preferred embodimentof the present invention preferably includes an LCD 20 in a front side 2a of the handset 1. A sound propagation hole 15 is formed in the upperside of the LCD 20 to propagate the sound generated by the speaker 10 tothe ear of a user. Additionally, a filter 50 for filtering any foreignsubstance is provided in an inner side of the sound propagation hole 15.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the speaker 10 ispreferably mounted at a predetermined angle, preferably about 90° withrespect to the front side 2 a of the case 2. This arrangement enablesthe length H2 between the speaker 10 and the upper side of the handset 1to be reduced, thereby reducing the overall length of the handset andallowing the size of the LCD 20 to be increased. This embodiment has thedisadvantage of the sound from the speaker 10 being propagated upwardlyand thus failing to advance if the upper side of handset is blocked.Alternatively, the sound is reflected and is finally propagated to theoutside of the handset through the sound propagation hole 15. In thiscase, however, the volume and articulation of the sound aredeteriorated.

Referring to FIG. 5, a sound guide 70 is preferably provided above theupper side of the speaker 10. The sound guide 70 serves to steer thedirection of the sound generated by the speaker 10 at a prescribed angletoward the sound propagation hole 15 so as to prevent deterioration ofthe volume and articulation of the sound.

Referring to FIG. 6, the sound guide 70 will be described in detail. Aspeaker support 78, on which the upper side of the speaker 10 ismounted, is formed in the bottom of the sound guide 70. A sound guidegroove 76 is formed in an inner portion of the speaker support 78 toguide the sound generated by the speaker 10 to the sound propagationhole 15, preferably without any loss. For this purpose, the sound guidegroove 76 has one side coupled to receive an output of the speaker 10,and the other side coupled to the sound propagation hole 15.

An upper side 72 of the sound guide 70 may have various shapes, butpreferably has the same shape as the inner side of the case 2 in whichthe sound guide 70 is mounted, so as to be closely adhered to the case2. Also, it is preferable that a front side 74 of the sound guide 70 beformed to be closely adhered in the sound propagation hole 15.

The conversion angle of the sound can be adjusted depending on an angleof the sound guide groove 76. The sound guide groove 76 should be formedwithout a cornered portion which could prevent the sound from advancing.The thickness T between the sound guide groove 76 and the upper side 72of the sound guide 70 should be such that vibration does not occur.Accordingly, it is preferable that the sound guide groove 76 be asemicircular shaped curved surface having minimum sound reflection, andbe made of a rubber material capable of closely adhering to the insideof the handset. It is also preferable that the thickness between thesound guide groove 76 and the upper side 72 of the sound guide 70 beformed of a prescribed thickness so as not to generate vibration.

Furthermore, since the size of the sound guide groove 76 affects thesound's volume, it is possible to obtain the sound of desired volume byappropriately adjusting the size of the sound guide groove 76.

The operation of the handset for mobile communication according to apreferred embodiment of the present invention will be described withreference to FIG. 5. When an electrical voice signal reaches the handset1, the electrical voice signal is converted to an audible signal by thespeaker 10. The audible signal (the sound) advances toward the upperside of the speaker 10. At this time, the sound is guided toward thesound propagation hole 15 by the sound guide groove 76 of the soundguide 70, which also minimizes sound reflection.

For example, if the speaker 10 is mounted perpendicular to the frontside 2 a of the case 2, the sound is also converted by about 90°. As thesound generated by the speaker 10 moves along the curved surface of thesound guide groove 76, resistance is small, and loss of the sound isreduced. Further, since the upper side 72 and the front side 74 of thesound guide 70 have the same shape as the inner side of the case 2 inwhich the sound guide 70 is mounted, the sound generated by the speaker10 does not leak out. Therefore, the sound generated by speaker 10 ispropagated to the outside, that is, to the ear of the user, withoutdegradation in the volume or articulation of the sound.

The aforementioned embodiments of the present invention have at leastthe following advantages. First, the sound guide allows the sound to beguided toward a desired direction, regardless of installation structureand angle of the speaker, and also minimizes loss of the sound.

Second, according to a preferred embodiment of the handset for a mobilecommunication of the present invention, since the speaker is mounted ata predetermined angle with respect to the front side of the case tominimize the height of the speaker, it is possible to reduce the lengthof the handset and provide a larger LCD for the handset. Furthermore, ifthe sound guide conforms to the handset, it is possible to propagate thesound to the outside without deteriorating the volume and articulationof the sound.

While the aforementioned embodiment of the present invention has beendescribed in relation to a handset for mobile communication, the presentinvention is not limited to such an application. For example, the soundguide according to the present invention can be used with any smallsized electronic product having a speaker, such as an earphone, anelectronic pocket book, a computer, or a mini-recorder, so that thespeaker can be installed at a desired position in a small space.Therefore, the sound guide according to the present invention can permitminiaturization of such electronic products having the speaker, and ifapplicable extension of the LCD or other surface.

The foregoing embodiments are merely exemplary and are not to beconstrued as limiting the present invention. The present teaching can bereadily applied to other types of apparatuses. The description of thepresent invention is intended to be illustrative, and not to limit thescope of the claims. Many alternatives, modifications, and variationswill be apparent to those skilled in the art. In the claims,means-plus-function clauses are intended to cover the structuresdescribed herein as performing the recited function and not onlystructural equivalents but also equivalent structures.

What is claimed is:
 1. A mobile communication terminal handset,comprising: a rigid single body case having a sound propagation hole ona front side forming an opening on the case; means for providingwireless communication; a speaker coupled to the case configured togenerate audible sounds; a sound chamber between the speaker and thesound propagation hole, wherein the speaker is positioned at a firstprescribed angle other than 0° and 180° with respect to the front sideof the case, wherein a first side of the sound chamber is formed along aportion of the first side of the case that contains the soundpropagation hole, and second side of the sound chamber is aligned withthe speaker, and wherein the sound propagation hole allows audiblesounds from the speaker to pass directly from the sound chamber tooutside of the case; a sound guide within the sound chamber, wherein thesound guide is configured to guide the audible sounds generated by thespeaker toward the sound propagation hole by directing a propagationdirection of the audible signal at a second prescribed angle.
 2. Thehandset of claim 1, wherein the first prescribed angle is approximately90°.
 3. The handset of claim 1, wherein the sound guide comprises: aspeaker support coupled to the speaker; and a sound guide groove formedin the sound guide between an inner portion of the speaker support andan inner portion of the front side of the case, and configured toconvert the propagation direction of the audible signal to the secondprescribed angle, wherein the sound guide groove has a first side inclose proximity to the speaker and a second side in close proximity tothe sound propagation hole.
 4. The handset of claim 3, wherein the soundguide groove is formed of a single body and has a semicircular shapedcurved inner surface which provides minimal reflection of the sound. 5.The handset of claim 1, wherein the sound guide is made of a rubbermaterial.
 6. A sound guide for a speaker, comprising: a speaker supportcoupled to the speaker; and a sound guide recess formed in an innerportion of the speaker support to guide the propagation direction ofsound waves emitted from the speaker in a first direction to a seconddirection, wherein the sound guide recess has a first side substantiallyaligned with the speaker and a second side aligned in a second directionthat is substantially perpendicular to the first direction, wherein thesecond side is configured to couple to a front side of a single bodymobile communication terminal, and wherein the first side is contiguouswith the second side wherein the sound guide groove has a semicircularshaped curve which minimnizes the reflection of the sound.
 7. The soundguide of claim 6, wherein the sound guide is formed of a single body andcomprises a rubber material.
 8. The handset of claim 1, wherein an outerportion of the sound guide substantially conforms to an inner portion ofthe case.
 9. The handset of claim 3, wherein the sound guide isconfigured such that substantially all of the sound from the speaker isdirected into the sound guide groove.
 10. The sound guide of claim 6,wherein the sound guide is configured to conform to an inner shape of acase of the mobile communication terminal, and the second side of thesound guide groove is aligned with the front side of the case.
 11. Thesound guide of claim 6, wherein the sound waves from the speakerpropagate out of the sound propagation hole with substantially the samephase and amplitude as the sound waves emitted from the speaker, and thesound waves are not substantially reflected within the sound guide. 12.The handset of claim 1, further comprising a filter coupled between thesound propagation hole and the speaker.
 13. The handset of claim 1,wherein the sound propagation hole comprises an opening in the casebetween an inside of the case and an outside of the case.
 14. Thehandset of claim 1, further comprising a LCD display panel, wherein thespeaker is positioned between the LCD display panel and the soundpropagation hole.
 15. The handset of claim 1, wherein the speaker iscoupled to a speaker support, and wherein the speaker support is coupledto the front side of the case.
 16. The handset of claim 1, wherein thespeaker is affixed to a speaker support that is affixed to the frontside of the case such that the speaker is substantially adjacent to thesound propagation hole.
 17. The handset of claim 3, wherein the soundguide groove is formed to commence at the speaker and terminate at thesound propagation hole.
 18. The handset of claim 4, wherein an outersurface of the sound guide is molded to have a shape of the soundchamber.
 19. The handset of claim 18, wherein the sound guide isconfigured to minimize vibration of the case.
 20. The handset of claim5, wherein the sound guide is formed from a single piece of the rubbermaterial.
 21. The sound guide of claim 6, wherein the sound guide isenclosed within a rigid body of a mobile communication device and ispositioned in a location between a LCD display screen of the mobilecommunication device and a top of the mobile communication device. 22.The sound guide of claim 6, wherein the sound guide is formed within asound chamber positioned between the speaker and a sound propagationhole.
 23. The sound guide of claim 6, wherein the second direction isaligned with a sound propagation hole formed in the front side of themobile communication terminal, such that the sound waves propagate outof the mobile communication terminal.
 24. The sound guide of claim 11,wherein the speaker is positioned adjacent to the sound propagationhole.
 25. A mobile communication terminal, comprising: a rigid singlebody case having a sound propagation hole on a front side; means forproviding wireless communications; a LCD display on the front side ofthe single body case, configured to display user information; a speakercoupled to the single body case at an angle other than 0° and 180°relative to the front side of the single body case, wherein the speakeris coupled to a speaker support adjacent to the sound propagation hole,and wherein a first side of a sound chamber is formed along a portion ofthe front side of the single body case that contains the soundpropagation hole, and second side of the sound chamber is aligned withthe speaker and wherein and the sound propagation hole allows audiblesounds from the speaker to be heard outside of the case; and a soundguide within the sound chamber, wherein the sound guide is configured toguide the audible sounds generated by the speaker toward the soundpropagation hole by directing a propagation direction of the audiblesignal at a second prescribed angle.
 26. The mobile communicationterminal of claim 25, wherein the sound guide comprises: a speakersupport coupled to the speaker; and a sound guide groove formed in thesound guide between an inner portion of the speaker support and an innerportion of the front side of the case, and configured to convert thepropagation direction of the audible signal to the second prescribedangle, wherein the sound guide groove has a first side in closeproximity to the speaker and a second side in close proximity to thesound propagation hole.
 27. The mobile communication terminal of claim26, wherein the sound guide groove is formed of a single body and has asemicircular shaped curved inner surface which provides minimalreflection of the sound.
 28. The method of claim 1, wherein the speakeris proximally located adjacent to the sound propagation hole.
 29. Themethod of claim 25, wherein the first side of the sound chamber iscontiguous to the second side of the sound chamber.